De Leeuw gained national fame in the late eighties and early nineties with television shows for the public broadcasting company VARA. Though satire was only a part of these shows and much of its humour was essentially harmless he came into publicity with satire about Dutch show business personalities who were often ridiculed.
Besides, many obscure musical acts were featured in his shows, many of which managed to gain national fame after they had been in De Leeuw's programme (e.g. Twarres and AIDS suffering singer Rene Klijn). VARA has since continued his shows apart from a few interruptions, often with considerable success.
In the early nineties, Paul de Leeuw also had some shows celebrating the new year. In the 1993-1994 show he ridiculed the new commercial television channel RTL 5 by announcing another new channel, "RTL 6" (RTL six, beter dan niks (at least better than nothing)). This led to a trial by the RTL company, who demanded that De Leeuw withdraw his joke.
He and his partner, Stephan Nuger, have adopted two children: son Kas (adopted in October 2001) and son Tobey (adopted in December 2002).
Paul de Leeuw has had many hit singles in The Netherlands. He is most famous for: Vlieg met me mee (#2), Ik wil niet dat je liegt / Waarheen, waarvoor (#1), and 'k Heb je lief (#3). Since the beginning of his television and singing career he released albums and singles, always becoming a big success.
In 2006, he recorded the song "Mijn Houten Hart" (My Wooden Heart) with Raffaela, which was later released as a single and peaked at #18 in the Dutch Singles Top 100, becoming one of his smallest hits.
Eurovision Song Contest 2006 incident
De Leeuw is, despite being famous for a long time in the Netherlands, best-known internationally for presenting the results of the Dutch televote in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006. De Leeuw was supposed to present the televote by simply thanking the presenters, performers and fans, before giving the result but instead the openly gay De Leeuw gave his mobile number to the male presenter Sakis Rouvas live on-air, and made other comments which somewhat lengthened the Dutch results.
De Leeuw also made a reference to gay culture when he remarked that Rouvas and his female co-presenter Maria Menounos reminded him of Will & Grace. As the results were live and required for the contest to continue, De Leeuw could not be cut off until he finished giving the voting results.
De Leeuw's actions resulted in negative comments from the commentators, with the BBC's Terry Wogan calling the act "pathetic" and asking "Who selected this eejit?" during the United Kingdom coverage of the contest. Other commentators, like the Portuguese Eladio Climaco, didn't translate properly the gay remarks and said he was saying that they really look like Greeks. Parts of the dialogue were also shown on the German comedy show TV total.
The dialogue between De Leeuw and Rouvas
Rouvas: Hello Netherlands! Paul...
De Leeuw: Hello Greece, kalisperma everybody! [note that sperma means sperm in many languages, at least both in Dutch and Greek]
Rouvas: Kalispera Paul. [kalispera means 'Good evening', which was supposed to be said]
De Leeuw: You look like Will... [stops, likely due to the cheering of the crowd behind him] You look like Will & Grace, you two. So here are the votes, the Dutch votes. Let's come. [In an extremely high tempo] One, Ukreene (sic), two, Russia, Germany, three, Ireland, four, Greece, five, Lithuania, six, Finland, seven points! [resumes normal tempo]] Now the eight points. Are you ready Chaci, tzatziki, cichaci?
Rouvas: Yes, haha.
De Leeuw: Are you ready? Eight points... I like your blouse... The eight points are for Bosnia-Hoshegovina (sic). Yeah.
Rouvas: Bosnie-Herzegovine, huit points.
De Leeuw: Yes, I say. And the ten points, Zhacki, Zhicka, Chucka, are from (sic) Armenia!
Rouvas: Armenie, dix points.
De Leeuw: Ok, and Chacki, do you have my mobile number now or after twelve points?
Rouvas: Give it to me now. I bet it's 69 69 69. [In Greece, mobile numbers always begin with 69, but the rest of the 69's are a sexual innuendo, since Rouvas did not seem to like Paul's lines.]
De Leeuw: Ok, 00... [interrupted by Rouvas' remark] no no no no no... I'm not the French guy! [Probably refers that Rouvas was once interviewed for a French magazine, in which the interviewer assumed that Rouvas was gay and directed his questions accordingly.] Its 00 31 6 24 74 44 32 10 dial 1. Twelve points goes to, I'm very proud to say, Turkey! Twelve points.
Rouvas: Turquie, douze points.
Leegte
Paul de Leeuw Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
met het kussen op mijn hoofd
teveel drank en sigaretten
hebben het gemis verdoofd
het is een doelbewuste leugen
elke keer als ik ontken
dat ik zonder jouw ontroostbaar
en mezelf niet meer ben
voorlopig nog niet
ik lach om elke traan
en ik verdrink mijn verdriet
ik kijk wat televisie
of hang in de kroeg
vrienden bij de vleet
en drank genoeg
leegte als ik niet bij jouw kan zijn
verkies ik leegte boven de pijn
van de leegte die je bij me achterliet
ik zou wel kunnen janken maar dat wil ik niet
want leegte is duizend keer zo veilig als verdriet
ik ben nachten aan het stappen
en ik vrij met iedereen
maar ik word elke dag weer wakker
met jouw armen om me heen
wanneer ik me alleen voel
overschreeuw ik het gemis
tot de stilte opgeheven
en de pijn geweken is
ik wil niet aan je denken
ik kan het nog niet
ik ben op de vlucht
voor mij verdriet
leegte als ik niet bij jouw kan zijn
verkies ik leegte boven de pijn
van de leegte die je bij me achterliet
ik zou wel kunnen janken maar dat wil ik niet
want leegte is duizend keer zo veilig als verdriet
want leegte als ik niet bij jouw kan zijn
verkies ik leegte boven de pijn
van de leegte die je bij me achterliet
ik zou wel kunnen janken maar dat wil ik niet
want leegte als ik niet bij jouw kan zijn
verkies ik leegte boven de pijn
van de leegte die je bij me achterliet
ik zou wel kunnen janken maar dat wil ik niet
want leegte is duizend keer zo veilig als verdriet
The song "Leegte" by Paul de Leeuw is about a person who is trying to cope with the pain and emptiness of a recent breakup. The lyrics describe the singer's attempts to distract themselves from thinking about their ex-partner by engaging in activities like drinking and going out with friends. However, the singer still feels overwhelmed by the sense of loss and emptiness, and ultimately prefers the numbness of emptiness over the overwhelming pain of missing their ex.
The song is a poignant exploration of the complex emotions that can arise in the wake of a breakup. The singer is clearly struggling to come to terms with their feelings, and the honesty and vulnerability of the lyrics make the song very relatable. The melody is simple and repetitive, which reinforces the sense of stuckness and inability to move on that the lyrics describe.
Line by Line Meaning
nooit meer slapenloze nachten
met het kussen op mijn hoofd
I used to have sleepless nights where I would bury my head in a pillow. But that was before you left and now I can sleep peacefully.
teveel drank en sigaretten
hebben het gemis verdoofd
I've been using alcohol and cigarettes to numb the pain of losing you.
het is een doelbewuste leugen
elke keer als ik ontken
dat ik zonder jouw ontroostbaar
en mezelf niet meer ben
I know it's a lie, but I keep telling myself that I don't need you and that I'm happy without you. The truth is, I'm inconsolable without you and I don't feel like myself anymore.
maar ik wil niet aan je denken
voorlopig nog niet
ik lach om elke traan
en ik verdrink mijn verdriet
I don't want to think about you, not yet. So, I laugh at every sad moment and drown my sorrows with alcohol.
ik kijk wat televisie
of hang in de kroeg
vrienden bij de vleet
en drank genoeg
I distract myself by watching TV or going to the bar. I have plenty of friends around me and enough alcohol to keep me occupied.
leegte als ik niet bij jouw kan zijn
verkies ik leegte boven de pijn
van de leegte die je bij me achterliet
ik zou wel kunnen janken maar dat wil ik niet
want leegte is duizend keer zo veilig als verdriet
I would rather be in a void of nothingness than feel the pain of your absence. It hurts so much that I could cry, but I don't want to. Being in this empty void feels a thousand times safer than feeling so much pain.
ik ben nachten aan het stappen
en ik vrij met iedereen
maar ik word elke dag weer wakker
met jouw armen om me heen
I spend my nights going out and sleeping around with anyone. But every morning, I wake up wishing it was you I was holding.
wanneer ik me alleen voel
overschreeuw ik het gemis
tot de stilte opgeheven
en de pijn geweken is
When I feel alone, I shout over the emptiness until the silence is broken and the pain is gone.
ik wil niet aan je denken
ik kan het nog niet
ik ben op de vlucht
voor mij verdriet
I don't want to think about you, I can't handle it yet. I am on the run from my own sadness.
Contributed by Jayce K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Marcel Versteeg
Mooi liedje..THUMBS UP!
Astrid Winkelman
💗💗💗